warring states careerist

Chapter 846 Journey of a Letter
That very important letter reached the first deliverer that very night.

The person who received the letter had rough fingers, obvious calluses on the tiger's mouth, and a thick layer of calluses on the outer edge of the palm, with thick fingers.

There is a strong smell of fresh wood in the room, and some carpenter's tools such as saws, chisels, and axes are placed beside them.

The person who received the letter was Li Zheng from this part of the city. After the Zichan Reform, Zheng Guo already had the embryonic form of the Shiwu system. In the past few years, he has fought against South Korea successively, and this system has been strengthened.

It's just that although the system exists, it is different from the Qin State after the reform in later generations. Qin State takes officials as teachers, and there are enough officials at the village level that can be controlled by the grassroots.

However, Zheng State's political system is more loose. The debate on whether the township school should be destroyed or not, led to Deng Xi's bamboo punishment to replace the official tripod punishment, which made Zheng Guo's civil discussion extremely fierce.

One is that the economy is relatively developed in relatively remote areas, and the other is because Zheng Guo’s centralization of power is not strong enough. Although the township school was destroyed after Zichan’s death, there are serious remnants.

Lizheng and the like in the village are not officially designated by Zheng Guo, but are elected by the people, or they are quite prestigious figures in the local area.

This person is Li Zheng, but he doesn't take money. After all, Zheng State is different from Qin State after the reform. The central finance is simply unable to pay the wages of some low-level officials. Of course, those who don't pay are not considered officials.

The person who received the letter was a carpenter, so of course he was a member of the Craftsman Association, and he was also an important figure in the secret village school activities here.

After the wheelbarrow named Moche was introduced to Zheng State, the craftsmen and carpenters had a good life for several years.

He is also a warm-hearted person, and the witches of the Mohist family who go to the city to treat diseases are also familiar with him. Usually, the neighbors will come to him for anything, and he can read some characters, which is quite prestigious among the neighbors.

It can be said that this is a person who has the words "I am a Mohist" written on his face, but as far as Zheng Guo's grassroots control ability is concerned, no one pays attention to it, let alone governs it.

As an outsider, South Korea is even more impossible to understand the truth.

Small handicraftsmen and urban citizens were originally the basis for the expansion of the Mohism beyond Sishang. Craftsmen did not need too many reasons to join the Mohism, and there were not too many stories.

The carpenter who received the letter couldn't help cursing: "In the past, the giants made ink carts for the benefit of the people. It's a good thing, Wei Han's unjust war, they used such carts to transport grain. Zheng nobles were driven away Well, the Han nobleman is also not a good thing."

The person who sent the letter advised: "Don't worry, one day everyone in the world will be equal. This letter is very important. You have to transport food tomorrow, and someone will pick you up when you arrive. When you arrive, use Tie a white scarf around your head, and someone will come looking for you."

After speaking, he handed over a piece of white and clean cotton cloth, and the carpenter took it and carefully hid it in his arms, and also put away the letter.

They didn't stay with any guests, so they went their separate ways.

In the early morning of the second day, the neighbors had already gathered outside. In the past few years, the unicycle ink carts had become popular, and even if there wasn't one person, each family could have one.

Many people complained: "Carpenter, you said that Rensi would pay for labor in Song Dynasty, but we don't pay anything. Mr. Zheng didn't pay when he was in charge of us, and he didn't pay when the Koreans came. , what are the Koreans doing here?"

"That is, the work at home has to be put down again, and the car is broken down and I have to trouble you to fix it, but the army doesn't pay for it."

Everyone complained for a while, but finally they didn't complain too much. The farmers are not busy now, and although the handicraftsmen are busy now, most of them listen to the carpenter.

The carpenter pointed to the Korean soldiers in the distance and said, "Who let them have this? Don't complain, let's go, at last you don't have to bring your own food."

After counting the number of people, dozens of wheelbarrows creaked to the front of the treasury, where the Koreans were counting and carrying bags of grain onto the wheelbarrows.

Li Zheng knew a few characters, so he went to the little official in charge, who was also from Zheng, but he used Sishang's numbers, which are now convenient.

The small Korean official next to him also recognized that Sishang’s characters were derogatoryly called "cheap characters", but they were also called "official scripts". Use them all.

Although not talking about the whole world today, officials in the Central Plains and Qin are basically using this kind of script that costs less to read.

Originally, the food in the government treasury was directly accumulated. With the promotion of cotton planting in recent years, cotton cloth has gradually replaced linen as the bottom clothing fabric. Some thick linen has also begun to be used to weave sacks. Zhuoze has already specialized in making sacks. The food in the government treasury no longer uses capacity units such as "stone", "weng" and "cauldron", but uses the catty from Sishang Song as the unit.

One is the change of the container, and the other is that the main trading partner is Sishang, which has become the world economy, and the measurement units used there have been semi-officially popularized along with purposeful and conscious propaganda, just like Deng Xizhu back then. punishment.

The treasury official checked the quantity and said: "80 people, 320 vehicles, [-] catties per car, must arrive within four days. Twenty catties of them are food for the road. If there is less, you will be punished."

After writing down the simple paperwork, the carpenter half-sneered in a nonchalant tone: "You have to take the pickles yourself."

The treasury official is also an interesting person, and he also smiled: "In the past, not only the pickles, but also the food to eat. The Koreans can be regarded as a benevolent government, and they even prepared food for us to eat on the road."

The two smiled as if no one was there, and they both looked indifferent. The previous generations of these people or they themselves had participated in several coups and rebellions in Zheng Guo. Coaxed away and passively confronted, naturally he didn't care what the Koreans next to him thought.

After the processing here is finished, the first batch of labor labor to transport food will start here. The first batch of more than 800 people is led by a township chief, and some Korean soldiers escort them.

In addition to Ze Zhuo, it didn't take long to see laborers from other places also being transported.

Or transporting food, or transporting gunpowder, and some people are repairing some potholes in front of the road, followed by a few large copper cannons.

In the evening, they camped out in the open air, divided their locations mile by mile, lit bonfires, took out their own small earthen pots, and started cooking.

Iron pots have already appeared, but at this time they are still considered as a slight luxury among daily necessities. It is impossible for this kind of military personnel to bring their own iron pots, but small earthen pots necessary for expedition.

The journey was smooth, and it didn't rain. We arrived at the camp at noon on the third day, and we could already see Xinzheng's city walls and the roar of artillery from a distance.

According to the man's instructions, the carpenter took out a white cotton cloth and tied it on his head, waiting quietly.

Not long after, a man walked up to him. Looking at his appearance and clothes, he should be a Korean military officer. He was not too old, and he didn't look like a farmer, at least he was a down-and-out scholar.

The carpenter was a little nervous. Most of the people he came into contact with on a daily basis were handicraftsmen. He rarely saw the non-commissioned class who were qualified to become officers. He didn't know what was happening on the other side.

The man on the opposite side is indeed a scholar. He used to be from Zheng and belonged to Han a few years ago and became Han.

Because of his literacy and his background in the scholar class, he soon became a small official in charge of military supplies in the army.

The family has long been in poverty. When I grew up and started to learn to read, the theory of Mohism had been printed on paper and spread everywhere. Zheng Guo was originally a relatively open country or a country with poor governance ability.

After listening to a few lectures, entering the township school and talking with people, he soon became a black element.

He is from Zheng, and he never traveled to Sishang. Later, he secretly became a Mohist, and he has a one-way connection. His superior is also from Zheng, and he used to run a mill in negative millet.

Basically, the mills in each city are semi-public strongholds of the Mohists. They are usually used to push the mill. After all, it takes a process of grinding wheat from cheap food to high food. In the cities, there are also some people who directly buy noodles and open mills. Most of them are both handicraftsmen and local small businessmen.

There are many people coming and going in this kind of place every day, and the mill needs hired workers, and most of the hired workers are the poorest group of people, and the permanent presence of personnel is also convenient for cover.

In addition to being a contact point, the mill also plays a role similar to a "church". Storytelling and character recognition are usually held near the mill, and occasionally some food is given away. Choose near the mill.

After the negative millet returned to Korea, the mill owner was transferred away, and he sold the mill in name, but in fact the mill did not belong to him.

After the war started, the miller found this one-way contact, the Mohist who was a military supply officer. In order to be able to use the signal of the joint in advance, it is one thing to use it, and another thing to use it. After all, The barracks are not so easy to get into.

At this time, the Quartermaster is naturally not called the Quartermaster. According to "Six Secret Teachings", the person in charge of the Quartermaster belongs to the post of "Tongliang".

The Six Secret Teachings can be considered to have the prototype of the army's staff department, which is called "the heart, the counselor, the astronomy, the geographical advantage, the art of war, the food, the power, the drum flag, the thigh, the material, the authority, the eyes and ears, the claws, the wings, and so on." , Youshi, Warlock, Alchemist, Fasuan" and many other scholars belong to the headquarters of the commander.

To be a grain official, one must be literate and know nine numbers. This scholar has naturally learned it. In addition, he has received part of the Mohist education. Compared with others, he is outstanding in nine numbers and counting food, and he is also used in the army. , not an ordinary small official, who directly obeys the orders of Tongliang.

Some of the petty officials around me were either Mohists, or gradually became Mohism elements, and the entire logistics department of the Han Army had been penetrated like a sieve.

Because this kind of petty officials and aristocrats naturally disdain them, but they also demand to be able to read and count. However, who are these people who are not nobles but also need to be able to read and count?The composition is complicated, but one either agrees with Shangxian, or agrees with Feigong, or agrees with universal love, or agrees with equality...

However, countries have no choice. With the increase in food production, population increase, gunpowder, and technological innovation, the scale of war has expanded.

The scale of the war has expanded in a short period of time, and there are still so many talents cultivated by the aristocratic system, which will gradually become insufficient. We can only choose to use some down-and-out scholars and common people to assume the duties of technical logistics officers that are increasingly needed to expand.

At this time, there was no such thing as censorship—there may not be many Mohists among the soldiers, but among the "technical logistics" arms such as logistics, carpenters and blacksmiths accompanying the army, the proportion of Mohists or Mohist sympathizers is quite high.

(End of this chapter)